An electronic newsletter Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 46 23 June 1997 In this issue: (1) CLINTON SEEKS MORE BROADCASTS TO CHINA CND-Global, 6/23/97 (2) BEIJING SLAMS EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OVER ITS CHINA RESOLUTION CND-Global, 6/18/97 (3) CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER IN KYRGYZSTAN RFE/RL Newsline, No. 56, Part I, 6/19/97 (4) GENERAL'S VISITS DASH UYGUR EXILES' HOPES South China Morning Post, 6/20/97 (5) YANGTZE CROSSED ON TIGHTROPE South China Morning Post, 6/23/97 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (1) CLINTON SEEKS MORE BROADCASTS TO CHINA CND-Global, 6/23/97 [CND, 06/22/97] In a letter dated Wednesday and released by the White House on Thursday to House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), President Clinton outlines his proposal to expand to 24 hours a day U.S. government Mandarin broadcasts to China, Chicago Tribune reports. He also called for an expansion of broadcasts to China in other dialects. Clinton is seeking a way to encourage human rights and democracy in China without reducing trade and his proposal is similar to the one advocated by a Republican congressional group. (Ximin TANG, Guochen WAN) *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (2) BEIJING SLAMS EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OVER ITS CHINA RESOLUTION CND-Global, 6/18/97 [CND, 06/14/97] Enraged by the resolution on China passed by the European Parliament on Thursday, the standing committee of China's National People's Congress(NPC) reacted strongly in a statement carried in the official People's Daily on Saturday. "This resolution adopted by the European Parliament has poisoned the atmosphere of China-Europe relations and thus disrupted their normal development," said the statement. The EU resolution, adopted in Strasbourg, urges Beijing to observe human rights in Tibet, respect the independent judiciary system in Hong Kong, allow Taiwan memberships in international organizations, and release all political prisoners. The NPC charged that "certain members" of the European parliament still hold "a Cold War mentality and colonialist ideas" and are opposed to a strong China. (Ron ZHANG, Guochen WAN) *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (3) CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER IN KYRGYZSTAN RFE/RL Newsline, No. 56, Part I, 6/19/97 Chi Haotian received support on a number of issues during his 16-18 June visit to Bishkek, according to RFE/RL correspondents and AFP. Prime Minister Apas Jumagulov said his country supports the Chinese position on reunification with Taiwan . A spokesman for the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry noted that Kyrgyzstan's "positions against separatism and religious extremism are identical" to China's. Kazakstan had given Chi similar assurances during his visit there before arriving in Kyrgyzstan. Uyghur exile groups in Kazakstan have responded by saying they can no longer count on Almaty and Bishkek for "support in the fight for the independence of Xinjiang." On 16 June, it was announced that Bishkek's Lenin Avenue will be renamed after Deng Xiao Peng. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (4) GENERAL'S VISITS DASH UYGUR EXILES' HOPES South China Morning Post, 6/20/97 AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Almaty Visits by the Chinese Defence Minister have undermined the confidence of Uygur exile groups in the countries bordering Xinjiang to support their struggle for independence in northwestern China. "We are not counting anymore on Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to help us in the fight for the independence of Xinjiang," Muhidin Mukhlissi, spokesman for the United Revolutionary National Front, the separatist Uygur group based in Kazakhstan, said. The shift came as Chinese Defence Minister General Chi Haotian visited Kyrgyzstan after a similar trip to Kazakhstan. He returns to Beijing today. The ex-Soviet republics bordering China are home to about 300,000 Muslim Uygurs who form the majority in Xinjiang. General Chi has won support for his crackdown on Uygur nationalist exile groups. A Kyrgyz Defence Ministry spokesman said this week: "The positions of Kyrgyzstan and China against separatism and religious extremism are identical." Over the past few weeks, security services in Kazakhstan have stepped up surveillance of several Uygur separatist groups. "We are disappointed by the Central Asian governments' statements during General Chi Haotian's visit," Kakhraman Khodzhaberdiyev, head of the Association of Uygur People, which is legally registered in Kazakhstan, said. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (5) YANGTZE CROSSED ON TIGHTROPE South China Morning Post, 6/23/97 ADA YUEN A Xinjiang high-wire walker yesterday set a record when he crossed the Qutang Gorge of the Yangtze River. Adili, a seventh-generation high-wire walker from western Xinjiang, took 13 minutes and 48 seconds to cross the gorge, more than 30 minutes faster than the previous record. He also became the first Chinese person to cross the Yangtze River on a tightrope. The 24-year-old Xinjiang performer completed the feat on a 636-metre wire, 411 metres above the bottom of the gorge, using the same route and rope as former record-holder, Canadian Jay Cochrane. Cochrane, 51, was the first tightrope walker to cross the gorge in October 1995, taking 53 minutes and without a safety net. Unlike the Canadian, Adili did not perform any stunts and was able to cross more quickly. Reports said the Xinjiang tightrope walker had to use the old, rusty rope which Cochrane left behind because he could not find a sponsor. Adili, who is performing high-wire walking at the China National Minorities Games in Kunming, Yunnan, said he could cross the gorge blindfolded. Prepared by: Abdulrakhim Aitbayev (rakhim@lochbrandy.mines.edu) WUNN newsletter index*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= The World Uyghur Network News electronic newsletter is produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center (ETIC) in cooperation with the Taklamakan Uighur Human Rights Association (USA), and is devoted to the current political, cultural and economic developments in Eastern Turkistan and to the Uyghur people related issues. Eastern Turkistan (Sherqiy Turkistan in Uyghur) is a name used by the indigenous people of the region for their motherland located in what is at present the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic China. The World Uyghur Network News brings information on situation in Eastern Turkistan from the Uyghur and other sources to the attention of the international community. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= EASTERN TURKISTAN INFORMATION CENTER |